Federal Auditor-General Karen Hogan will launch an audit of the Trudeau government’s controversial ArriveCan app, which skyrocketed from an initial cost estimate of $80,000 to a whopping $54 million.
The Globe and Mail says the audit adds “a new layer of independent scrutiny” and follows a House of Commons vote last November that asked the Auditor-General to look into the issue. Liberal and Green Party MP’s voted against the idea.
Federal politicians have been demanding answers since October, when The Globe and Mail first reported that the cost to build and maintain the travel-related app was on track to reach $54-million by the end of the current fiscal year.
AIR CANADA EUROPE SALE ENDS TODAY
Ready to shop in Milan, indulge in a serving (or four) of pommes frites in Brussels or stroll along the Seine in Paris? This is your last chance to save on all flights to Europe with Air Canada, PLUS earn up to 7,000 bonus Aeroplan points. Travel from March 1 to September 30, 2023. Offer ends today (March 1, 2023.)
Sparkling wine from Ravine Vineyard in St. David’s, Ontario. JIM BYERS PHOTO
ONTARIO WINERIES FORESEE TOURISM BOOM
Ontario winemakers and grape growers see a future where their products will be the leading choice among wine consumers in this province, with more than three million tourists visiting Ontario’s wine regions each year to enjoy world class wines and hospitality.
Ontario’s VQA Wine and Grape Industry’s newly released 2030 Vision anticipates substantial growth in this important sector of the provincial economy, fueling increases in investment, market share, jobs and related tourism.
“The growing recognition of the quality of Ontario VQA wines, the excellence of our wine country tourism experiences and the opportunities for growth will combine to take our world class industry to another level, with premium wine at the centre of a thriving economy and culture,” said Del Rollo, Chair of Wine Growers Ontario.
I’ve had terrific experiences at wineries in the Niagara Region (I quite like Ravine Vineyards), Prince Edward County and along the north shore of Lake Erie, where you’ll find fine wineries such as Burning Kiln and, further south, Muscedere.
Among the projected growth targets within the next seven years, the 2030 Vision foresees:
- More than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario’s grape and wine production, tourism and hospitality sectors;
- Annual Ontario VQA wine sales of more than half a billion dollars (up from $385 million per year currently), with all-channel share of Ontario’s wine market growing by 20 per cent (from current 13 per cent);
- Three million annual visitors to Ontario’s wine regions (up from 2.6 million today);
- A 75 per cent increase in capital investment by Ontario wine producers, with 4 million new vines planted over 20,000 acres.
A summary of Ontario’s VQA Wine & Grape Industry – 2030 Vision is available here.
“Are these ambitious goals? They are, but they are absolutely achievable,” said Carolyn Hurst, Chair of Ontario Craft Wineries. “To get there, we need to come together – the grape and wine industry, our culinary and hospitality partners, and government.”
VQA wines are made with 100 per cent Ontario-grown grapes. Ontario has 18,000 acres under vine and has grown to 191 VQA wineries, concentrated in the Niagara Peninsula, Prince Edward County and Lake Erie North Shore. Advanced cool-climate viticultural research and technologies support emerging wine regions across the province of Ontario in Norfolk and Haldimand Counties, Central Ontario and Georgian Bay, Huron Shores and Eastern Ontario.
 Rafting the Rio Grande in Jamaica. JIM BYERS PHOTO
JAMAICA MINISTER SEEKS VOLUNTARY TOURISM RESILIENCE FUND
| Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, is calling on the global community to support a tourism resilience fund to help countries cope with disruptions like pandemics.
Speaking with CNN’s Richard Quest, Minister Bartlett stated that the fund’s resources would come from tourists, who would make voluntary contributions – similar to leaving a tip – when they visit countries and thereby help further the goals of resilience and sustainability.
“This is a very innovative approach,” Minister Bartlett said, explaining that the money will be used “for mitigation, for adaptation, for the development of capacity within countries to know more about disruptions – how to track them, how to mitigate against them, how to manage them when they come, and then how to recover and recover quickly and then to thrive afterwards.”
Minister Bartlett noted that the fund has a dual role in developing the capacity and physical infrastructure to enable a quick response to various types of disruptions. He mentioned that countries like Japan have been able to bounce back quickly after disruptions, while others, such as Haiti, are still struggling to recover from earthquakes and other disruptions even after 20 years. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
